summer ride to europe

[redtailkarn]

Right, i Know some of you are already planning trips to europe next year, and this may sound like another similar post and i suppose it is, but here goes. I don't mind when i go but will post dates shortly. SO TELL ME WHEN, if your interested. i did this a couple of years ago and ended up going with just my brother. We just went to the Alps but it was awsome. so what do i want to do?

england

france

belgium

germany

nerbergring

poland

Auschwitz

then back to colditz

then it gets vague but we then go to italy and do the the famous stelivos pass

then stay around the french swiss italian border in the alps.

then through france back to the UK and home.

if your interested or would like to add anything I'm open to anything.

just want to ride

[yorbandit]

How long ????

[Hoody]

I arrange and do a lot of European trips and I have to say that's a mammoth tour you are thinking of.

If you are doing Auschwitz it is a long way over very boring roads through Poland!

Consider Berlin and Warsaw either side of it.

Unless you are looking at 3 weeks, the itinerary may be better suited to two trips, unless you are looking at 500 miles a day in which case the riding becomes a chore.

[Guest akey]

I agree with Hoody, I did a trip last year and each day was a really great ride, good roads, great company and a good laugh.

Some mates at work did a similar trip to us but overstretched the milage and they ended up having a torrid time with a few arguments from tired and fed up riders because of the mileage they had to achieve each day.

It also depends on what type of riding you want to do, do you want to tick of the destinations by doing lots of motorway type roads or would you rather meander through the mountains on b roads enjoying the views and the roads?

[Guest]

Germany for us next year.

[hammer5]

or would you rather meander through the mountains on b roads enjoying the views and the roads?

 

Agree with this statement as well as the amount of miles you are looking at covering; assuming its a two week trip? There is a plan to ride to Italy on TMBF; maybe join up with that one?

BB

[redtailkarn]

I Must admit that i haven't worked out the finer points of this trip. I have estimated the trip will be a couple of hundred miles short 3,000 miles. so lets say it's 3,500 miles. I was thinking of leaving on a friday and travelling for 17 days, returning on the sunday. Simple maths say's that we then should cover 205 miles a day which i don't think is to much to cover in a day. i excpect it will be a mixture of lanes and motorway. I must also admit that i have never done anything this big before, but lifes an adventure. Like i said, a couple years I invited people to come with me to the alps, several people on here said they might be interested I also had about a dozen friends who'd said they'd come. However, As i finalised eveything people dropped out one by one, Some of which had genuine reason others couldn't be bothered. All I can say is I did go, and i had a great time. there are talkers and doers in this world and i for one don't want to sit at home when i'm older and wish i had done these types of things.

However there's nothing to say plans can't get changed if we feel it's getting too much.

for example we could go to Germany, then if we feel it's to much, drop down to the alps, or go to poland and miss the alps out, but my plan is as i stated in my first post.

I'm not all knowing or a big head, just a normal bloke and i do appreciate all the info you have given me.

Cheers

[Guest akey]

200 odd miles a day is about right for some fun roads, its about what we did last year. Wish I could take the time off to join ya as I had an awesome trip last year

[yorbandit]

Nobody thought you were mate me went abroad first time last year and we went with a final destination (salou, spain) and took 5 days to do all the wiggly bits we could find with nothing booked was mega did not a lot of miles each day but the miles we rode were brilliant, learnt some things and will do it slightly diff next time but the no set miles to do made it all more fun, trying to find a campsite etc to me that is fun to others it would be a nightmare so you got to make sure everyone going has the same ideas etc

Most important you enjoy it and get out of it what you want

[Guest]

Good luck with your trip wherever it takes you

There is a strange sense of satisfaction to covering a lot of distance even if it means aches and pains, no pain no gain eh!

This might be obvious but if you decide to spend a couple of days in a particularly nice place you may discover, your average daily mileage will have to increase accordingly.

This time i'm gonna resist the temptation and have a gentle ride to Millau with enough time to look around South Central France between Limoges and the Viaduct.

If i really do get tempted i might just make the effort to do a bit of mileage on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees

Or save it for next time.

If i see you whizzing past i'll maybe you'll have time for a beer

[redtailkarn]

After some advice from HOODY, i'm not sure about the trip from the Nuburgring to Auschwitz. The round trip from Nurburgring to Auschwitz then on to Stelvio pass is about 1500 miles nearly half of the whole trip :/ . I could gun it and do big mileage to cover the distance then take it easier later. or miss it out all together and go from the Nurburgring to the Stelvio pass saving a 1000 miles. If I miss it out I gain time and have more time to see the countryside, but I won't get to see something I have really wanted to see.

If Poland is flat and has nothing to see then there's nothing to stop me getting on the motorway, autoroute? and making good speed and head way. i could book into a hotel to make the ride more do able.

This is my biggest bug bear what to do?

[rennie]

when we went to Spain on the bikes we did 500 miles a day

all motorways. We set out to do that!

The only site seeing we did, at all, was the

Milau viaduct!!!

It was hard work but I enjoyed it in a strange sort of way

Would I do it again? yes!!!! tomorrow if I could

The bimbling about, site seeing etc doesn't really appeal to me!

I just want to get where I'm going asp, then pool/bar/pool/bar

And I would always want to go south for the sun!

[Hoody]

I've done 5-600 miles through choice and 900 through necessity in a day, but actually 'touring' loses it's fun appeal if it's an every day 500 mile dash.

250-300 miles a day (8-9hrs riding) is more than enough, particularly on nice roads.

Each to their own though - horses for courses!

[hammer5]

Why do it all in one trip? why not do some of it this year and some of it next year or the year after?

I would be interested in joining up. (budget issues only problem).

BB

[RiffmasterII]

15th June to 28th June 2011 me and a mate have booked two weeks leave to do a bike trip, so far we have agreed on the nurburgring, the rest is still open. I think we could be interested in joining you. I did Holland, Germany and Czech Republic last year in just over a week, around 2,000 miles or so. Keep me updated

My only suggestion / advice would be to make sure you give yourself plenty of time in each place you visit, the roads all start to look the same a few days in and you could find that youre just hammering along a road to cover 400 miles when you actually would prefer some more chill out time / hangover recovery.

Alan

[redtailkarn]

I have been thinking about what people have said, and i have to agree with hoody that it is good to have a bass to work from, and that Poland is a big a big chunk of the riding, which will either take a good few days to complete, or mean having to ride big mileage to cover it quickly. which may put people off. I have also done some quick maths, and have worked out the cost of fuel and tolls on autoroutes to cover this part of the journey is just as expensive as going on lastminet and booking return flights, transfers and 3 nights in a hotel. so it may be simpler to cut this part of the journey out. No one knows what the weather will do. if i get to the nurburgring and it's raining i would prefer to wait to ride it dry, which could put the rest of the trip out. so i will now start to work out the finner things and contingance plans.

[nomad]

If you are planning to do the Nurburgring I would try and do this towards the end of the trip, if you have an off here this could be the end of your holiday and a problem getting your bike home, just a thought.

[RiffmasterII]

If you are planning to do the Nurburgring I would try and do this towards the end of the trip, if you have an off here this could be the end of your holiday and a problem getting your bike home, just a thought.

 

I wouldnt agree as you will be doing the ring on tyres that have just done 2,000 or so miles and possibly may need replacing making the risk of having an off more.

[nomad]

If you are planning to do the Nurburgring I would try and do this towards the end of the trip, if you have an off here this could be the end of your holiday and a problem getting your bike home, just a thought.

 

I wouldnt agree as you will be doing the ring on tyres that have just done 2,000 or so miles and possibly may need replacing making the risk of having an off more.

 

Good point Riff lots to consider. I guess you just have to do what fits at the time.

[RiffmasterII]

If you are planning to do the Nurburgring I would try and do this towards the end of the trip, if you have an off here this could be the end of your holiday and a problem getting your bike home, just a thought.

 

I wouldnt agree as you will be doing the ring on tyres that have just done 2,000 or so miles and possibly may need replacing making the risk of having an off more.

 

Good point Riff lots to consider. I guess you just have to do what fits at the time.

 

I understand what you're saying about the ring and writing your bike off. I went on the ring last year and did it at the end of my trip, 2,500 miles on the tyres before I got there, mostly along motorways and I was running around the ring on square tyres, going back this year on new tyres with just 400 miles on them